by Liz Snyder
The Kenosha Pops Concert Band’s performance on July 22, 2015, promises to be a colorful affair — even if band members are wearing their white polo shirts and black pants. Audience members are welcome to break out their best tie-dyed shirts.
The theme is “Pops in Technicolor,” and the tunes all have colors in their titles.
“This is a different type of theme for the band,” said Garrett Kornman, who will conduct tonight. “Craig (Gall) and I came up with this theme several years ago when we realized how many tunes in the Pops’ library have colors in the title. It has been excellent in bringing to light several of our more obscure pieces that have not seen the light of day in many years.”
A number of the pieces, he added, “are wonderful works by American composers who wrote specifically for concert bands.”
Also on July 22, Kornman said, “most sections of the band are featured throughout the concert, giving the audience a chance to hear the various ‘colors’ each of the sections provide within the overall sound of the band.”
The program will include:
— March of the Golden Brass.” John Cacavas composed this march. We’re going out on a limb here and assuming this piece features the Pops’ brass section.
— “The Green Domino.” American composer Clare Grundman wrote this overture. “Although Grundman composed numerous works for film, radio and television, he is best remembered today for his numerous works for symphonic band,” Kornman said.
— “A Study in Lavender.” American band composer Eric Osterling wrote this piece. “In addition to his numerous compositions, Osterling was also a public school teacher for more than 30 years,” Kornman said.
— “The Golden Ear.” This is a paso doble by Spanish composer Mariano San Miguel. It would often be played at bullfights in Spain, Kornman said.
— “Azure Mist.” Kornman describes this Lloyd Conley piece as “a mysterious, moody composition.”
— “Rainbows.” This is a medley of popular songs with “Rainbow” in the title, featuring “Over the Rainbow” from “The Wizard of Oz,” “Look to the Rainbow” from “Finian’s Rainbow” and “Sing a Rainbow” from the movie “Pete Kelly’s Blues.”
— “Color Me Blue.” Kenosha native Will Schaefer wrote this tune. “We had programmed this piece on a 2007 concert in which Schaefer was to be back in Kenosha to conduct,” Kornman said. “He passed away several weeks prior, though, and we played the piece as a tribute to him.”
Schaefer, who had a long career composing music for movies and television, died in 2007 at age 78. He was the guest conductor with the Pops Band for its July 19, 2006, concert and had planned a return visit before he lost his battle with cancer.
In addition to his impressive list of movie and TV music credits, Schaefer had deep roots with the Pops Band. His father, Helmuth Schaefer, was the band’s first musical director. The younger Schaefer performed with the Pops Band while in high school, in 1945 and ’46, playing trumpet under director George E. Manupella.
— “The Greenbriars of Wexley.” Master American composer Sammy Nestico wrote this concert march, Kornman said.
— “Amber Waves of Grain.” Kornman describes this tune as “a symphonic rhapsody on the melody of ‘America the Beautiful,’ arranged by James Curnow.”
— “The Blue-Tail Fly.” This popular Civil War-era tune features the sound of a giant fly swatter provided by the percussion section.
— “The Golden Age of Broadway.” This medley of well-known tunes from popular Broadway shows includes “The Music Man,” “Guys and Dolls,” “Fiddler on the Roof” and “The Unsinkable Molly Brown.”
— “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” The 1970 musical features the music of composer Andrew Lloyd Webber.
— “Blue Moon.” The Rodgers and Hart tune is an audience favorite, Kornman said.
“There will also probably be a few ‘colorful’ marches and polkas thrown in to round out the program,” he added.
And, as we noted above, tie-dyed shirts are welcome (though optional).
Note: Kornman is handling directing duties this week while the band’s other conductor, Craig Gall, is in Europe.

If you go
What: The Kenosha Pops Concert Band’s “Technicolor” program
When: 7 p.m. July 22, 2015
Where: The band shell in Pennoyer Park, Seventh Avenue and 35th Street
Admission: Free
Rain: If it rains, the concert is canceled

By Liz Snyder
The Kenosha Pops Concert Band — a Wednesday night fixture on the band shell during the summer months — is taking its show inside July 29 for a “Symphonic Pops IV” performance in Carthage College’s Siebert Chapel.
“This is an exciting concert because we can play music that we couldn’t play outside,” said Garrett Kornman, the band’s assistant conductor. “We can perform more delicately scored pieces, whose little details get ‘lost’ when performed outdoors.
“That means,” he added, “we can introduce the audience to different types of music.”
Playing different types of music tonight was the inspiration for the band’s indoor concerts, said Craig Gall, the band’s conductor.
“It’s always a treat to bring the band inside and take advantage of the reverberance of the hall — and we don’t have to worry about our music blowing off the stands,” he said.
In honor of tonight’s special concert, the Pops Band has some special features planned:
— Air conditioning! Even if the weather turns steamy, the band is performing in a cooled environment.
— Rachmaninoff! The program includes the Russian composer’s “Andante Cantabile,” arranged by Calvin Custer. “This is an arrangement of the beautiful ‘18th Variation on a Theme of Paganini’ by Sergei Rachmaninoff,” Gall said.
— Sousa! Though the Pops won’t be on the band shell tonight, the always popular John Philip Sousa — known mostly for his marches — is still on the program. The Pops is performing Sousa’s “Songs of Grace and Songs of Glory.” Gall describes the piece as “a fantasy of well-known hymns Sousa used on his Sunday concerts including ‘Rock of Ages,’ ‘The Palms,’ ‘Steal Away’ and ‘Nearer My God to Thee.’ ”
— Opera! The program includes the “Triumphal March” from Giuseppe Verdi’s opera “Aida.”
— Broadway! The Pops is performing selections from “Camelot” by Allan J. Lerner and Frederick Loewe. Vocalists Michael Anderle and Nick Huff will sing three songs from the 1960 broadway musical — the title song, “How to Handle a Woman” and “If Ever I Would Leave You.” The arrangement comes to the Pops from the U.S. Army Field Band of Fort Meade, Md.
— New stuff! “The Sinfonians,” by Clifton Williams, “is new to the Kenosha Pops music library this summer,” Gall said. “This march dates back to 1960 and was commissioned by the Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia men’s music fraternity of America and utilizes the organization’s ‘Sinfonian Hymn’ as thematic material.” Gall adds that the group’s hymn “is a melody borrowed from the Gilbert & Sullivan operetta ‘The Pirates of Penzance.’ ”
— Still more new stuff! “Washington Greys March,” by the Spanish-born composer and band leader Claudio Grafulla, was written in 1855 and is making its first appearance on a Kenosha Pops program.
— Percy Grainger! “Ye Banks and Braes O’ Bonnie Doon” is described by Gall as “a lovely setting of an old Scottish folk song, created by the famous Australian composer in 1936.”
— Strauss! “Allerseelen,” by Richard Strauss, was arranged for band by Oliver Davis.
— A masterpiece! “First Suite in Eb,” by Gustav Holst, was composed in 1909. Gall calls this piece “the granddaddy of all band music and one of the cornerstone masterworks in the concert band repertoire.”
— Tuxedos! The conductors will break out their formal wear tonight on the podium. (Black-tie is not required for audience members.)
Also on the program: “Flourish for Wind Band,” written by Ralph Vaughn Williams as an overture to a pageant held in London in 1939, and “Toccata” by early 20th century Spanish composer and cellist Gaspar Cassadó.
The band first played an indoor symphonic summer concert in 2007 and each December plays a holiday concert in Siebert Chapel.

If you go
What: Kenosha Pops Concert Band’s “Symphonic Pops IV” concert
When: 7 p.m. July 29, 2015
Where: Siebert Chapel on the Carthage College campus, 2001 Alford Park Drive
Cost: Free
Pre-concert performance: Students in the Panther Band Camp will play, starting at 6:15 p.m.
Next concert: 7 p.m. Aug. 5. The band moves back to the Sesquicentennial Band Shell in Pennoyer Park for the season finale, a program featuring favorite tunes from this summer.

Panther Band Camp kids performing
Students in the Panther Band Camp — a weeklong program for students entering the sixth through eighth grades in western Kenosha County grade schools — will perform July 29 in Siebert Chapel, starting at 6:15 p.m., before the Kenosha Pops Concert Band’s program.
The camp is staffed by the Wilmot area band directors including Matt Macarri, Jenny Vanderloop, David Dvorak, Linda Ledanski and John Sorensen. All the band directors will be taking a turn at the podium.
The students will perform: “Portsmouth Overture” by Robert W. Smith, “Gadget” by Randall Standridge, “Pevensey Castle” by Robert Sheldon, “Song of the Blacksmith” by Gustav Holst and “Happy” by Pharrell Williams.

by Liz Snyder
The Kenosha Pops Concert Band hopes to appeal to “youngsters and those who are young at heart” with the July 15 “Kinderkonzert” program, according to Garrett Kornman, who will conduct the band. (Apparently, the program is also aimed at people with a love for creative spelling.)
Selections range from pieces familiar to kids today — Randy Newman’s music from the movie “Toy Story 2,” including “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” — to older tunes for those “young at heart” audience members, including the classic John Bratton song “The Teddy Bear’s Picnic,” which dates to 1907.
The concert will start and end with circus marches by Karl L. King — the king of circus marches. “Invictus” was dedicated by King to Merle Evans, then the bandmaster of the Ringling Brothers Circus. The other King piece is “Barnum and Bailey’s Favorite” march, with famous circus melodies.
The concert will also feature:
– “Cartoon Symphony,” a medley arranged by Larry Clark and featuring “This is It!” — the theme from “The Bugs Bunny Show” — plus the theme from “The Jetsons,” the theme from “The Simpsons,” “Animaniacs” and “Merrily We Roll Along.”
– “The Music of Disneyland,” featuring songs that are related to the theme park, not Disney movies. Tunes include “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah,” “Mickey Mouse March,” “You Can Fly, You Can Fly, You Can Fly” and “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes.”
– “The Waltzing Cat” by Pops favorite Leroy Anderson. “This piece has a fun twist — animal sound effects,” Kornman said.
– “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” by French composer Paul Dukas. The 1896 piece was made famous in the 1940 Disney animated movie “Fantasia.”
– “A Charlie Brown Celebration,” a medley of music by Vince Guaraldi, originally written for a 1960s TV special that never aired. “The music was then recycled for the Peanuts Christmas special,” Kornman said. Guaraldi went on to compose scores for 17 Peanuts television specials.
The tunes in the medley include “Linus and Lucy,” “Christmas Time is Here” and “The Great Pumpkin Waltz.” Alto saxophone soloist Curtis Crump is featured on the “Charlie Brown Theme.”
– “Under the Sea,” a calypso piece by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, made famous in the animated Disney film “The Little Mermaid.”
– Henry Mancini’s “Baby Elephant Walk” from the 1962 movie “Hitari!” starring John Wayne, which was filmed in Africa.
– Mancini’s theme for “The Pink Panther” is heard in the mash-up piece “The Pink Panther Meets Batman” — containing both those famous themes from the 1960s.
– “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.” This tune was written and recorded first by Solomon Linda with the Evening Birds for the South African Gallo Record Company in 1939, under the title “Mbube.” Composed in Zulu, it was adapted and covered internationally by many 1950s pop and folk revival artists, including the Weavers, Jimmy Dorsey and the Kingston Trio.
In 1961, it became a No. 1 hit in the United States as adapted in English, with the best-known version by the doo-wop group the Tokens.
– “Roller Coaster,” a quick-moving piece written by Johnny Cowell, who was a trumpet player with the Canadian Brass. A trumpet trio made up of Kevin Velvikis, Eric Weiss and Nancy Quist is featured.
– Tunes from the Broadway musical “Annie,” including “It’s the Hard Knock Life,” “Easy Street,” “I Don’t Need Anything bu You” and “Tomorrow.”
“We don’t play that show very often,” Kornman said, “and it’s got some really nice music in it.”
Kornman is handling directing duties this week while the band’s other conductor, Craig Gall, is in Europe.

If you go
What: The Kenosha Pops Concert Band’s “Kinderkonzert” program
When: 7 p.m. July 15
Where: The band shell in Pennoyer Park, Seventh Avenue and 35th Street
Admission: Free
Pre-concert performance: The KUSD’s K-L Recreations Band plays starting at 6:15 p.m.
Rain: If it rains, the concert is canceled

K-L Band performing before the Pops
The Kenosha Unified School District’s K-L Band — made up of 103 students who will be in sixth grade this fall — is performing at 6:15 p.m. July 15, before the Pops Band’s program, on the band shell in Pennoyer Park.
“These students just finished their first year of playing,” said Geoff Poole, the band’s conductor.
“It’s been an absolute blast to work with these kids,” he said. “They are so enthusiastic, and it’s wonderful to watch them grow as players.”
Poole, an elementary school band teacher for KUSD, adds that “the K-L parents have been a great help this summer, too.”
The band ends its season tonight, performing “Ayre and Dance” by Bruce Pearson, “Whirlwinds” by David Shaffer, the “Infinity” march by James Curnow, “Comet Ride” by Brian Balmages and “Dance of the Jabberwocky” by Rob Grice.

The Kenosha Pops Band performs a “Latin Lilt” concert July 8, 2015, on the band shell in Pennoyer Park. “This is fiery music — which we may need to warm up this cool weather,” said Craig Gall, the band’s musical director. The free concert features pieces that are new to the Pops Band — including “La Flor de Seville March” by John Philip Sousa. “We bought this piece last year,” Gall said. “We wanted a Sousa piece that ties into this theme.” Also new to the Pops is “Carnaval in São Paulo” by James Barnes, which Gall calls “a charming, happy piece.”

On the other end of the musical spectrum, four of the pieces date back to the George Manupella era with the band and were taken from the back files of the Pops Band’s extensive music library. Manupella was the Pops Band’s director from 1924 to 1961. Those pieces are:

– “My Little Star (Estrellita)” by Manuel A. Ponce, described as a “Mexican serenade.”
– “Malagueña.” The piece is the fiery finale from the 1927 “Andalucia” suite by composer Ernesto Lecuona, known as “the Cuban Gershwin.”
– “Amparito Roca” a Spanish march by Jaime Texidor that is a longtime Pops favorite
– “Cumana” by Barclay Allen. This was the theme song in the 1940 s for Allen’s big band.

Gall is also conducting:
– “Latin Celebration,” a medley of tunes including “Brazil,” “Besame Mucho,” “Perfidia” and “Mambo Jambo.”
– Leory Anderson’s lesser-known tango “The Girl in Satin.”
– Songs from the Broadway show “Man of La Mancha.” Greg Berg, the band’s master of ceremonies, will sing “The Impossible Dream.” Other tunes in the medley include “Little Bird, Little Bird,” “Dulcinea” and the title tune, “Man of La Mancha.”

And no Latin-themed concert would be complete without tunes from the Tijuana Brass. Garrett Kornman, the band’s assistant conductor, is leading the band on “Tijuana Brass in Concert,” a medley of tunes made famous by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, including “Spanish Flea,” “Whipped Cream,” “The Lonely Bull” and “Tijuana Taxi.” “Spanish Flea” was made famous as the theme for TV’s “The Dating Game” in the 1960s. (For younger readers: The show functioned as a televised, more innocent form of Tinder.)

Kornman is also conducting:
– “Copa Cabaña.” But — this is a piece written by Harold L. Walters and isn’t the famous Barry Manilow song. “Walters is an American composer writing in the style of the samba,” Kornman said.
– “Blue Tango,” the better-known Anderson tango. “He’s not a Latin composer,” Kornman says of the Pops favorite, “but the tango is from Argentina in South America.”
– “The Sound of Brazil,” a medley featuring “Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars,” “Meditation,” “One Note Samba,” “How Insensitive” and “The Girl From Ipanema.” These are all bossa novas written by Tom Jobim, a Brazilian songwriter, composer, arranger, singer and pianist/guitarist who was a primary force behind the creation of the bossa nova style. “ ‘Ipanema’ was recorded by Stan Getz in the mid-’ 60s during the bossa nova craze,” Kornman said.
– The march “Zacatecas” by Genaro Codina. “This is ‘ the unofficial Mexican national anthem, ’” Kornman said.

Kornman says this concert theme “has a lot of recognizable melodies. People should feel free to get up and dance.”

The band is also playing the “Böhmischer Traum” polka. “This piece, about 15 years old, is very popular in Europe,” Gall said. He is heading to the Czech Republic next week for a vacation and programmed this piece on Latin Night exercising his “conductor’s prerogative” as a bon voyage piece.

If you go:
What: The Kenosha Pops Concert Band’s “Latin Lilt” concert
When: 7 p.m. July 8, 2015
Where: The band shell in Pennoyer Park, Seventh Avenue and 35th Street
Admission: Free
Rain: If it rains, the concert is canceled

Dave Braun Trio playing before the Pops:
The Dave Braun Trio — featuring Dave Braun on guitar, his wife Paula on bass and their son Pete on drums — is performing July 8 at 6:15 p.m. on the band shell, before the Kenosha Pops Band’s program.
Paula Braun also plays flute with the Pops Band, which she joined as a teenager more than four decades ago. Among the tunes the trio is playing are “Recorda-Me” by Joe Henderson, “I Wish” by Stevie Wonder and “Sonny Moon for Two” by Sonny Rollins. They will also perform the theme from the 1959 Brazilian movie “Black Orpheus.” The film’s soundtrack has become a bossa nova classic. Tim Bell — a retired jazz instructor at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside — will join the trio for a few numbers.

The Dave Braun Trio is now in its 21st year playing music every Friday night at the HobNob Restaurant. Dave Braun said it’s rare for a house band to be playing at the same location for that long, but it’s an opportunity he’s cherished since the beginning. “I have always believed that if you swing and play from the heart, people will come,” he said in an interview in the May 2014 issue of Just Jazz Guitar magazine. While the group has seen several changes in sound, the biggest development came from Pete being added to the group, Dave Braun told the Kenosha News. “My son has forced me out of my comfort zone with his youth and different styles of listening experience,” he said. “He really influences how we play, and there’s more interaction between the group than there ever was before.”

The Dave Braun Trio plays at the HobNob, 277 Sheridan Road, from 7 to 10 p.m. every Friday night. For more information, go to www.davebraunjazz.com.

The Kenosha Pops Concert Band is doubling up this week, with concerts July 1 in Pennoyer Park and July 4 in Wolfenbuttel Park. “We’re playing two different programs, though you can expect to hear some of the same pieces both nights,” says Craig Gall, the band’s conductor. The theme both nights is, naturally, patriotic tunes and Americana. “We’re covering music from the American Revolution and then through all the different eras,” Gall said.

The band’s guest for both concerts is Miss Kenosha Kiersten Gonzales. She’ll be singing “I Dreamed a Dream” from the Broadway musical “Les Miserables,” George and Ira Gershwins’ “They Can’t Take that Away from Me” and “Let It Go” from the Disney mega-hit movie “Frozen.”

In the spirit of the July Fourth holiday, we offer a patriotic quiz, with the answers provided by the pieces on the program:

1) What war ended 150 years ago?

•That would be the Civil War, which ended in 1865. The Pops Band is performing “The Blue and the Gray,” a setting of Civil War-era tunes by Clare Grundman that includes “Marching Through Georgia,” “Tenting Tonight,” “The Yellow Rose of Texas,” “Aura Lee,” “Dixie” and “Battle Hymn of the Republic.”

2) What war ended 70 years ago?

•World War II. To mark that anniversary, the Pops is performing “Normandy,” also by Grundman, based on the old French song “Ma Normandie.” Also on the program is “Hymn to the Fallen” by John Williams from the movie “Saving Private Ryan.” “The D-Day Normandy invasion (June 6, 1944) marked the beginning of the end of War War II,” Gall said. “And the opening of the movie ‘Saving Private Ryan’ depicts the landings on the Normandy beaches, connecting these two pieces.”

3) What Samuel Augustus Ward hymn was combined with a poem by Katharine Lee Bates and has become a beloved patriotic tune?

•“America the Beautiful.” The Pops Band is playing Carmen Dragon’s arrangement of the piece, with vocals by Greg Berg, the Pops Band’s master of ceremonies. Berg will lead the audience in a sing-along called “Sing for America,” featuring “You’re a Grand Old Flag” and “Battle Hymn of the Republic.”

4) Which patriotic song was originally sung by British military officers to mock the disheveled, disorganized colonial “Yankees” with whom they served in the French and Indian War?

5) What American composer wrote such classics as “Some Folks,” “Old Kentucky Home,” Oh! Susanna” and “Camptown Races”?

•Stephen Foster, who is known as “the father of American music.” The Pops is performing a medley of Foster’s songs, arranged by Sammy Nestico and directed by Garrett Kornman, the band’s assistant conductor.

6) What F.W. Meacham piece was designed to give the impression of a parade passing by?

•“American Patrol,” an 1885 march Kornman calls “an oldie but a goodie.”

7) What style of music was born in the United States?

•Jazz — called “America’s indigenous musical art form.” Gall said the Pops “wanted to include some jazz because it was developed here in America.” The band is playing “Dixieland Jam,” featuring a dixieland combo made up of Tim Bell on clarinet, John Sorensen on trumpet, John Schoettler on trombone, Marv Miller on tenor saxophone. Dave Boyd on tuba and Jerry Matteucci on the drum set. The “Jam” includes “Basin Street Blues,” “Maple Leaf Rag,” “When the Saints Go Marching In” and “Bill Bailey.”

8 ) What are the official marches of the armed services?

•“U.S. Field Artillery March” (Army), “Anchor’s Aweigh” (Navy), “U.S. Marines on Parade” (Marine Corps), “Army Air Corps March” (Air Force) and “Semper Paratus” (Coast Guard). Those marches will be performed during both concerts.

9) Which Sousa tune is the national march of the United States?

•By a 1987 act of the U.S. Congress, “The Stars and Stripes Forever” is the official national march of the United States of America. And it wouldn’t be the Fourth of July holiday week without hearing this tune a few times!

If you go:
What: Kenosha Pops Band performance (“A Patriotic Preview”)
When: 7 p.m. July 1
Where: The band shell in Pennoyer Park, 35th Street and Seventh Avenue
Admission: Free
Only at this concert: “Dixieland Jam,” featuring a dixieland combo made up of Pops members, will be performed.
Only at this concert II: The band runs a concession stand during Pennoyer Park performances, selling soda, candy and that world-famous Pops Band popcorn. (There won’t be Pops concessions on July 4, but you’ll find other food vendors at the lakefront.)
Only at this concert III: You could win a fabulous prize. The band asks a trivia question each week, with prizes including gift certificates to local restaurants. (There’s no trivia question at the July 4 concert.)

Pre-fireworks show (July 4):
What: Kenosha Pops Band’s July 4 performance (“An American Salute”)
When: 7 p.m. July 4
Where: Wolfenbuttel Park on Kenosha’s lakefront, 5801 Third Ave.
Only at this concert: The July 4 concert ends with the band’s annual “Salute to the Services Medley,” finishing with an echo “Taps,” the national anthem and “Stars and Stripes Forever.” (Those pieces will also be performed during the July 1 concert, but not as a grand finale medley.)
Only at this concert II: The Patriot Guard Riders will give a presentation at the concert intermission and will stand with the Pops to salute our veterans.

Only at this concert III: Fireworks will start about 9:30 p.m., after the concert, and are visible all along the lakefront.

Continental Band performing July 4:
Before the Pops Band’s 7 p.m. July 4 concert, the Continental Recreation Band will perform, starting at 6:15 p.m. The Kenosha Unified School District summer band, made up of about 75 students who will be in seventh grade in the fall, is directed by Brittany Sebetic, a bass clarinet player with the Pops Band. She is an elementary band teacher at five KUSD schools. The Continental Band will perform a separate program, featuring “Crocodile Rock,” music from TV’s “Game of Thrones” and “The Muppets Show” theme. The band will then join the Pops Band on “Fanfare for the Unsung Hero” by Matt Conaway. The Continental Band has one more performance this summer: July 14 at Kemper Center, as part of the Band Boosters’ Ice Cream Social event.

Audience members attending the June 24, 2015, Kenosha Pops Concert Band will get to hear two bands for the price of one. Before the Pops Band starts playing at 7 p.m., the band’s guest — the Hartland Community Band, directed by Jack Schulze — will perform a program starting at 6:30 p.m. When the Pops Band takes the stage, the band will be playing songs that take the audience “Through the Decades.” The concert opens with “For Me and My Gal,” a tune from 1917. “That’s the oldest piece on the program and kicks off tonight’s theme,” said Craig Gall, the band’s conductor. “After the opening number, we’ll play songs in chronological order through the decades up to 2010.” Gall said preparing tonight’s concert “was fun. We (he and assistant conductor Garrett Kornman) had to dig a little deeper to pick music and look at copyright dates” to find songs for each decade.

The program will feature:
1920s: “Twentiana,” a medley of several songs from that decade, including “I Want to be Happy,” “Bye, Bye, Blackbird,” “Charleston” and “Tea for Two.” “This is a fantastic arrangement of tunes from the 1920s,” Gall said of the piece, arranged by Hawley Ades.
1930s: Cole Porter’s “Begin the Beguine.”
1940s: Jerome Kern’s “Long Ago and Far Away,” featuring Pops master of Ceremonies Gregory Berg on the vocal.
1950s: “The Fifties,” a medley arranged by Paul Jennings. “We encompass all the music from the ’50s in this piece — pop music, TV and movie music,” Kornman said. Songs heard — briefly — in this medley include “Tequila,” “Hound Dog,” “At the Hop” and “Satin Doll.”
1960s: “The Windmills of Your Mind,” from the 1968 film “The Thomas Crown Affair.”
1970s: “I Write the Songs,” which was a huge hit for Barry Manilow.
1980s: “Africa,” as performed by the band Toto. The Pops purchased this piece for tonight’s concert.
1990s: “Time to Say Goodbye,” featuring Kornman on the alto saxophone and Nancy Quist on trumpet. This was a huge hit when it was recorded by Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman. The single, in various forms, topped charts all across Europe.
2000s: “You Raise Me Up,” which was a hit song recorded by Josh Groban. Tonight, Berg is the vocalist.
2010s: The “Captain America March” from the superhero movie.

What: The Kenosha Pops Concert Band’s “Pops Through the Decades” concert
When: 7 p.m. June 24, 2015
Where: The band shell in Pennoyer Park, Seventh Avenue and 35th Street
Admission: Free
Pre-concert performance: The Hartland Community Band will start performing at 6:30 p.m.
Rain: If it rains, the concert is canceled.

CYO Band selling ‘sack lunch’ before the concert.

The CYO Band is selling a “sack lunch” for $5 before tonight’s Kenosha Pops Band concert ($2 more for a second sandwich). The meal — a hot beef sandwich with soda and chips — will be served from 5 to 7 p.m. in the St. Catherine Commons Community Room across the street from Pennoyer Park. Patrons can eat the meal in the community room or take it to the park. Funds raised will go to the Bob Willems Music Scholarship for the CYO Band. Willems, a longtime member of the Pops Band who died in the fall of 2009, was also a supporter of the CYO Band.
(Note: The meal will be served even if the concert is rained out.)

The Hartland Community Band from Hartland, Wis., will perform starting at 6:30 tonight on the band shell. The group, which formed in 1994, performs summer concerts at Nixon Park in Hartland and at the Oconomowoc Band Shell and other community locations. The group also plays a holiday concert in December at the Holy Hill National Shrine. The band’s program tonight will include “The Pathfinder of Panama” by John Philip Sousa, music from “Into the Woods” by Stephen Sondheim, “Blue Moon” by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart (featuring a vocalist), music from “The Lord of the Rings” and “Casey at the Bat,” with narration.

The sound of music will be heard in Pennoyer Park June 17, 2015, when the Kenosha Pops Concert Band opens its 93rd season. (“The Sound of Music” is part of the show, too, but we’ll get to that in a moment.) The concert is called a “Welcome Back Potpourri” — meaning, “it’s a program with lots of variety,” said Craig Gall, the band’s conductor. “We’re playing something for everyone.”

The audience will be asked to take part, too, by joining in on the “Sing-Along of All-Time Hits.”
“We expect heartfelt singing from the audience on these old chestnuts,” Gall said.
Audience members will get help in singing from Greg Berg, the band’s master of ceremonies.
Besides leading the crowd in the sing-along, Berg is also the featured soloist on “May the Good Lord Bless and Keep You” by “Music Man” composer Meredith Willson. It’s an old tune — which Wilson wrote for “The Big Show,” a comedy-variety radio program hosted by actress Tallulah Bankhead — but is new to the Pops Band.

Gall is also leading the band on:
•“Rock and Rye Polka,” because “you gotta have a polka in your potpourri,” Gall said.
•“Tres Moutarde (Too Much Mustard)” by British composer Cecil Macklin. The piece was used as a theme song by a daredevil pilot, Gall said, and was played while “he looped the loop. We don’t have stunt airplanes, but we will try to survive this piece, which we’re playing at breakneck speed.”
•“Horse and Buggy” by Leroy Anderson, featuring Jack Plovanich on euphonium.
•“The Glory of the Brass.” This piece was purchased for the band by bassoon player Marsha Lee to honor Russ Hackbarth. The longtime Pops Band volunteer — who manned the concession stand — died in November. “Russ was a brass player himself,” Gall said, “and he enjoyed hearing the Dorf Kappelle German Band (of which Gall is a member) playing this tune.” Ernest Broeniman, the leader of Dorf Kappelle, arranged the piece.
•A medley of songs from “The Sound of Music.” The movie is celebrating its 50th anniversary, but this arrangement also features tunes from the Broadway production that were cut from the film.
•Warren Barker’s arrangement of “Irving Berlin: The Early Years,” featuring some of the composer’s early Broadway tunes.
•“Tölzer Schützenmarsch.” “Tölz is a city in Bavaria,” Gall said, “The march was written for the shooting club or society from that town.”
•“Cinema Paradiso” — from the 1988 Italian film — featuring Garrett Kornman on the alto saxophone.

Kornman is also the band’s assistant conductor and will lead the band on:
•“My Way,” the tune made famous by singer Frank Sinatra. Listen for the band member’s “vocal” parts.
•“Lassus Trombone,” an old trombone smear written by Henry Fillmore. The piece features the Pops’ trombone section: John Schoettler, Tom Frost, Geoff Poole and Erik Ripley.
•“Beguiner’s Luck” by Alec Wilder, who Gall calls “an unsung writer of popular music.”
•A medley of tunes by the Mamas & The Papas, including “Monday, Monday,” “Dream a Little Dream of Me” and “California Dreamin.’ ”

Alluding to the threat of wet weather this evening, Kornman said he hopes “that four-letter word — rain — stays away.” Gall adds, “We’re welcoming our faithful audience back for another great season of great music by a great lake.”

If you go:
What: The Kenosha Pops Concert Band’s opening night concert
When: 7 p.m. June 17, 2015
Where: The band shell in Pennoyer Park, Seventh Avenue and 35th Street
Admission: Free
Rain: If it rains, the concert is canceled

As the Kenosha Pops Concert Band gets set to start its 93rd season — with a performance Wednesday in Pennoyer Park — the group’s conductors are eager for the outdoor concerts to begin. “I’m looking forward to another fun concert season,” Craig Gall, the band’s musical director, said. “We’re hoping Mother Nature cooperates …” “And that the mosquitoes stay away,” Garrett Kornman, the band’s assistant conductor, interjected.

Each week, the concerts feature a theme, which Gall and Kornman “hammer out” over the winter months. “We have some fun themes this summer that should be fun for the band and the audiences,” Gall said. “And we’re playing some pieces that haven’t been heard in a while.”

After the “Welcome Back” concert on June 17 — which features a mix of songs including marches, sing-a-longs, polkas and show tunes — the band is playing “Pops Through the Decades,” highlighting 10 tunes from 10 decades through 2010. “That’s probably our most novel theme this summer,” Gall said. The band’s guest that night is the Hartland Community Band.

Other theme nights include “Latin Lilt” on July 8, with pieces from Spain and Latin America, and “Pops in Technicolor” on July 22. That concert is a program of songs with names of colors in their titles.
The “Technicolor” theme came about when Gall and Kornman went through the Pops Band’s extensive music library and came across several pieces with colors in the title, from “Color Me Blue” — by Kenosha native Will Schaefer — to “The Green Domino.”

Gall is also looking forward to the band’s indoor concert on July 29 at Carthage College.
“It’s been three years since we’ve played an indoor summer concert,” he said. “We will be returning to beautiful Siebert Chapel for ‘Symphonic Pops IV.’ ” The indoor setting, he said, allows the band to perform more symphonic-style pieces with delicate parts that don’t work well in an outdoor setting.

The band is also playing two patriotic-themed concerts — on July 1 and 4 — that will feature Miss Kenosha Kiersten Gonzales as the guest vocalist.

Both conductors are also quick to thank the city of Kenosha for its support. “It says a lot for the city of Kenosha that they’ve supported music like this for more than 90 years. I’m happy to be carrying on that tradition,” said Gall, who has been the band director at Kimberly High School near Appleton for 19 years. Before that, he was the band director for six years in Kenosha at Washington Jr. High School.
He is starting his 13th season as the band’s musical director and has been a member of the Pops Band for 22 years. He also served as assistant director for seven years.

Kornman is also starting his 13th season conducting the band. He also plays saxophone with the group.
“I’m looking forward to seeing everyone back in Pennoyer Park,” he said. “It will be great to be outside again in our great setting, right at the lakefront.”

The 2015 Kenosha Pops Concert Band season:
(All concerts start at 7 p.m. The band’s Wednesday concerts are on the band shell in Pennoyer Park, Seventh Avenue and 35th Street)

•June 17: “Welcome Back Potpourri Concert.” “The Pops ushers in the start of our 93rd season with a traditional ‘concert in the park,’,” said Craig Gall, the band’s musical director. “Marches, sing-a-longs, polkas, show tunes and other Pops favorites fill the bill.”
•June 24: “Pops Through the Decades,” featuring songs from the 1890s through the 2010s. The band’s special pre-concert guest is The Hartland Community Band, under the direction of Jack Schulze, which starts playing at 6:30 p.m. (www.hartlandcommunityband.com)
•June 28: “Pops-a-Float.” The Pops Band performs as part of the Kenosha Civic Veterans Parade.
•July 1: “Patriotic Preview.” Join the Pops band in Pennoyer Park for a “hassle-free” concert of Independence Day favorites. “Not a fan of the 4th of July crowds and parking problems?” Gall asks. “Join us tonight at the band shell for a no-stress, hassle-free Independence Day concert.” Miss Kenosha Kiersten Gonzales is the guest vocalist.
•July 4: “An American Salute.” Patriotic favorites will be performed in Wolfenbuttel Park before the fireworks, with special commemorations of the 150th anniversary of the end of the Civil War and the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. Miss Kenosha Kiersten Gonzales is the guest vocalist, and the Patriot Guard Riders “will stand with the Pops to salute our veterans,” Gall said. The Continental Band, directed by Brittany Sebetic, performs at 6:15 p.m.
•July 8: “Latin Lilt.” “If the summer temperatures aren’t enough to keep you warm,” Gall said, “the infectious rhythms of Spain and Latin America should do the trick!” The Dave Braun Trio plays on the band shell jazz starting at 6:15 p.m.
•July 15: “Kinderkonzert,” featuring popular children’s favorites played Kenosha Pops-style, Gall said. “Bring the entire family.” “Kinderkonzert,” featuring popular children’s favorites played Kenosha Pops-style, Gall said. “Bring the entire family.”
•July 22: “Pops in Technicolor,” a program of songs with names of colors in their titles. “This unique program features all the colors of the rainbow brought to life through music,” Gall said.
•July 29: Symphonic Pops IV, an indoor concert at Carthage College’s Siebert Chapel. “In a very special summer Pops concert event, the band moves indoors to beautiful air-conditioned Siebert Chapel for an evening of symphonic works for band,” Gall said. Michael Anderle is the guest vocalist. The pre-concert entertainment (starting at 6:15 p.m.) is students in the Panther Band Camp in Wilmot, directed by John Sorensen.
•Aug. 5: “Pops Rewind.” The band finishes the season with a night of band and audience favorites from the summer season

Admission is free.
Audience members should bring lawn chairs or blankets; benches are also provided at the band shell.
Concession stand
The band operates a concession stand, offering the world-famous Pops Band Popcorn, plus candy, soda, water and coffee. Funds are used to purchase equipment for the band.

The band was started in 1922 as the American Legion Band, sponsored by the Paul Herrick Post No. 21. The band later became the Kenosha Concert Band and, in the 1960s, the name was changed to the Kenosha Pops Concert Band to reflect the “pops-style” music at its concerts. The band has about 60 members, who come from all walks of life, including area school band directors, college students, professional musicians and “recreational” players. In addition to its summer schedule, the band performs a Christmas concert each December at Carthage College in the A.F. Siebert Chapel.

The Kenosha Pops Concert Band is closing its season on Aug. 6, 2014, with a program of favorites from this summer’s performances.
The band’s musical director, Craig Gall, says: “We had another great summer of music making for the Kenosha community. And we appreciate all their support.”
“The band — and the audience — had fun this summer, with a lot of fun themes,” he said, “in spite of the weather being cool — and sometimes rainy — all season.”
He added, “I’d also like to thank all the band members for sharing their talents every week on the band shell, and I’m already looking forward to next summer.”
Assistant Conductor Garrett Kornman said, as he does every summer, “I can’t believe it’s the end of another Pops Band season. It seems to go by so fast every year. This is a great group of musicians, and I really appreciate everyone’s efforts this summer.”
The program features pieces from several of the group’s concerts this summer.
From the band’s “Pops in the Great Outdoors” concert on June 18:
“Green is Green,” an old Bohemian polka arranged by Ernie Broeniman, the director of the popular Dorf Kappelle German Band that plays every fall at Kemper Center’s Oktoberfest.
From the June 25 “The Pops Play Reconcilable Differences” concert:
“Under the Sea” from Disney’s “The Little Mermaid.”
“Alpha and Omega” by Paul Yoder. The piece contains the beginnings and endings of several well-known tunes.
Music from “Roots,” the landmark 1977 TV miniseries.
From the July 4 patriotic favorites program:
John Philip Sousa’s “The Stars and Stripes Forever,” the official national march of the United States of America.
From the July 9 “Pops in Paradise” concert:
The world’s best-ever TV theme — “Hawaii Five-0” by Mort Stevens.
“Songs of Aloha,” a new piece to the Pops Band’s library. “In fact, it’s a new piece period, written in 2014,” Gall said. “It features three very popular Hawaiian songs — ‘Hawaiian Wedding Song,’ ‘Hawaiian War Chant’ and the signature song from Hawaii, ‘Aloha ‘Oe.’ ”
“Prince Igor” by Russian composer Alexander Borodin, with a melody audience members will recognize.
“St. Thomas” by Sonny Rollins. “He was a tenor saxophone player,” said Kornman — himself a sax player. “St. Thomas” is “a famous, recognizable jazz piece Rollins wrote in the late 1950s.”
From the July 23 “Pops in Tribute” concert:
“A Tribute to Marvin Hamlisch,” arranged by Michael Brown and containing the tunes “They’re Playing My Song,” “What I Did for Love,” “The Entertainer” and “The Way We Were.”
“It’s a nice arrangement of five Hamlisch favorites,” Gall said of the popular movie and theater composer.
A new piece to the Pops Band’s library, “Il Silenzio” (“The Silence”), which showcases the band’s trumpets.
The 1965 Italian piece was written as a memorial and was first played on the 20th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands during World War II.
“Big Bands in Concert,” arranged by Bob Lowden. The medley contains “A String of Pearls,” made famous by Glenn Miller; “Intermission Riff,” from Stan Kenton; the Duke Ellington tune “Sophisticated Lady”; and “Opus One,” most often linked to the Tommy Dorsey Band.
“A Salute to Bob Hope,” Warren Barker’s arrangement of songs made famous by Hope and Bing Crosby, including “The Road to Morocco,” “Moonlight Becomes You,” “Buttons and Bows,” “Two Sleepy People” and “Thanks for the Memory.”
From the July 30 “What’s in a Name?” concert:
“The Terry Theme,” written by Charlie Chaplin for his 1952 movie “Limelight.” The multi-talented Hollywood maverick wrote, directed, produced, edited, scored — and starred — in most of his films.
The program will also feature “Old Scottish Melody” — better known as “Auld Lang Syne.” That traditional piece, sung by master of ceremonies Greg Berg, has become the band’s signature sign-off each season.
Gall also said he expects a “surprise guest” to make an appearance on the band shell tonight.
“It’s always sad to see the summer season end,” Gall said, adding, “but we’ll see everyone Dec. 20 at Carthage College for our Christmas concert.”

If you go
What: The Kenosha Pops Concert Band’s concert of encores from the 2014 season
When: 7 p.m. Aug. 6, 2014
Where: The band shell in Pennoyer Park, at 35th Street and Seventh Avenue on Kenosha’s lakefront
Admission: Free